December 16, 2006

A 17 Year Old From Bihar Chosen UNICEF Mascot

Read a most invigorating news article which somehow re-infuses one with faith that a girl child can achieve the impossible in India, despite any form of support, encouragement, impetus, financially or otherwise, merely by sheer dint of intention and confidence in her abilities.

Its time we pick up from where we left off in thinking that History can be created by marginalising women or at the risk of their exclusion. It is not politically motivated, or a cliche driven thought to respect womens achievements, but a necessity for the health of society as a whole…And most importantly to salvage Indias inglorious reputation, on the ‘women abuse’ domain.

Seventeen-year old Anita of Bochahan village went against her family’s wishes to set up a successful business, which changed her family’s fortunes.

She had not campaigners or support on her way to success.

Her family wanted her to drop out of school and marry. She resisted and continued in school and started tutoring other students.

Anita saved Rs 2500 and bought a box with a queen bee and since then she has been buzzing.

Her family now earns a lakh rupee per year and Anita has built her own house and bought a motorbike for her brother.

Amazing isnt it?..She has proved once and for all that a focussed goal and a capacity for hardwork is the most essential ingredient to achieve ‘the impossible’..Lets view it from the perspective it deserves..we are talking of a child in Bihar, one of the states where womens empowerment is forced to be an alien concept. Where tradition has buried any( Rabri Devi excluded..for obvious reasons) attempt at women daring to impose their will and march in the foreground of social movement. This makes the phenomenon unique and praise worthy.

Unfortunately we needed a UNICEF to spearhead the campaign..ironical is it not? “We want parents to understand that girls should be educated. They should be allowed to set up business so that they can be entrepreneurs independently and do as well as men in any field,” UNICEF’s Communications Director Anupam Srivastav said.

Perhaps reason therefore for the Unicef to have recognised the potential and selectively associate their campaign for “women empowerment’ with Anita as their erstwhile mascot, deserving iconic reverence .

“She is doing very well and has made us proud. She has done so much for the family even a son will not do so much,” Anita’s mother Rekha Devi said. …At last!! the point reaches home. Discrimination against a daughter has been the rule, and disgustingly so. It is Anita and others like her who will perhaps break the shackled thoughts of generations, and female infanticide will die the death slowly, in place of the girl child, done to death…so far.

Examples of the kind have to be lauded, broadcast, to every nook and corner of India for two primary goals. First, it will serve as a pioneering enterprise meant to encourage and foster interest for more such instances, irrespective of the fortuitousness of circumstances. Second, as already stated, it will help eliminate , gradually the notion of the daughter being a burden on her parents and a curse on their lives. An exercise meant to change lives and destinies of millions..even if it is one baby at at time.

“”Earlier the women were denied even the basic rights. The girls were not allowed to step out of the house and were married off at a very young age,” Anita points out.

“In future I want to ensure that girls attain proper education. Every women should be empowered so that they are not married at a young age and should not be treated like a burden on the family,” she said.

“There should be no discrimination between a boy and a girl,” Anita said.
“Earlier the women were denied even the basic rights. The girls were not allowed to step out of the house and were married off at a very young age,” Anita points out.

“In future I want to ensure that girls attain proper education. Every women should be empowered so that they are not married at a young age and should not be treated like a burden on the family,” she said.

“There should be no discrimination between a boy and a girl,” Anita said.

Its heartening to see the hinterland waking up to ‘basic rights’ as well..in no uncertain terms…

Conflicting, almost diametrically opposing circumstances are as if the characterisation of Indian life..where news of a woman who was poisoned the next day after her marriage was splashed across electronic media channels. The prevalence of Dowry and its ramifications, is a truism..however, on its way out, one hopes.

Education, the pivotal fulcrum around which hinges the future of the most vulnerable strata of our society. It is financial independence resultant from job oriented learning which will ultimately prove to be the panacea of a phenomenon where a human being is unfortunately evaluated on the capacity to provide economically, or risk losing dignity, respect, rights, even her life.

It has puzzled me no end..this strange resistance to ‘enable women’ , to walk beside men, measuring step with step, not in competiton, but in happy co-ordination . ..to reach milestones together, progress in tandem, exploit potential inherent in each to its Nadir, thus enriching the social fabric!! Why does it threaten? It solidifies a union and grants it a gateway to greater prosperity…ponderworthy.

The ‘Queen bee’, nevertheless is presently, busily buzzing around, providing the nectar of her honey, diminishing, hopefully, the rancidness of her status as a daughter..

More power to Anita and her ilk!!

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

hahahaha… the riddle, the twist but truly the most incorrigible flaw that strangles the social elements!

really dunno wat to saY… people irrespective of the gender divide have become hypocratic. everythingz fast n i guess slowly the genderz are fading away.. but that is with education, opportunity n encouragement.

gods above won love the perfect world… the harmony, the unity in diversity.. no! its not like ‘peace on earth n joy in heaven’!! :)) so the adam n eve n their forbidden apple have evolved in wayz… 2006 AD n still the woman gets not the due regard n men wud never realise the happiness that comes in making-it-together! hell!! won mind losing… afterall wat matters is… togetherness! n in life, dont we all feel that deep inside- sigh! the bloated ego, mite me the ‘bloated male ego’ but still… its a lesson both of ’em mite care to apply in life.

Alas Sapt..the ‘great divide’ is the ego barrier, which may arise in either gender out of a sense of insecurity, masked as a superiority complex, begging to be validated by the opposite gender, who resists it coz of his/her own insecurities>fears>false ego …the circle is now complete..and the war continues. So much easier, practical to live, let live, acknowledge and accept, wholly..to become One….Utopia?

pata nehi.. utopia.. mite be, am a believer in that concept.. open n free n wide!! but aint see that honesty in the smiles n tearz of life- no more… well, guess winning is all that matters… sumwhere aint life is just without any podium? its all a 6 by 6 for thee to rest in peace 🙂

anyway.. hope the great divide is blown with the wind.. n princess diana ?? broken hearts aint visible ever… its ironic but then we are all blind over matterz that make life a goddam selfish voyage of nothingz (sometimes!)